Download - REVIEW FOR THE SEMESTER ONE MIDTERM EXAM
REVIEW FOR THE SEMESTER
ONE MIDTERM EXAM
UNIT 1: RIVER VALLEY & CLASSIC CIVILIZATIONSUNIT 2: GREECE & ROMEUNIT 3: ISLAM & AFRICA
UNIT 4: BYZANTINE EMPIRE & MIDDLE AGES
INSTRUCTIONS: Go through the slides and answer each
question in the packet; the slide numbers are listed for each question
REVIEW FOR THE SEMESTER
ONE MIDTERM EXAM
Neolithic Revolution The Neolithic Revolution is when humans learned how to farm; farming changed
the way humans lived:
People no longer had to be roaming nomads
Food surpluses led to population increases
Farming villages became established along river valleys; the rivers offered good soil, irrigation,
and sources of drinking water
The geography of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and Ancient
China affected their development
They were all located near rivers that left behind fertile soil ideal for farming; this made those four areas perfect
places to start a civilization
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSWriting:
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were both pictograms and a phonetic alphabet
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSTechnology:
Ancient Egyptian ideas included a 365-day calendar, geometry, astronomy, and the pyramids
The followers of Siddharta Gautama (the Buddha) are called Buddhists; they believe they can achieve
enlightenment and overcome their desires by following the Eight-Fold Path
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s
Government:Like Egypt, China was ruled by
families called dynastiesRulers justified their power by
claimingMandate ofHeaven (approval of the gods)
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s Government:
Kings could lose the Mandate ofHeaven and be overthrown by anew king; new rulers could justify
overthrowing a declining dynasty
INDIA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSIndia’s
Technology:
Most houses in the well-planned cities of the Indus River Valley had advanced plumbing: toilets and private bathrooms connected to underground sewer systems
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS OF MESOPOTAMIA MESOPOTAMIAN WRITING:
Sumerians (who lived in Mesopotamia) made the world’s first writing system,
which was called cuneiform
MESOPOTAMIA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS HAMMURABI’S CODE:
Babylonian King Hammurabi created the first written law code
Hammurabi’s Code recorded the laws and displayed them for all to see
Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice and retaliation (for example: “an eye for an eye”)
The code had different punishments for the various levels of society
CHINA’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSChina’s Government:
China was also ruled by the ethical system, Confucianism, which is based on the philosophy of the teacher, Confucius (born 551 BCE)
Confucianism focused on filial piety (respect for elders)
In order to gain one of the 130,000 government jobs, citizens
had to pass a civil service examExams were based
on Confucian teachings
Like the Hindus, the Buddhists believe in moksha (nirvana or enlightenment) and
reincarnation
However, the Buddhists rejected
the idea of the caste system and the idea that only Brahmins
can achieve moksha
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLPersia controlled their lands in a variety of ways
Persian kings were tolerant; they
allowed conquered people to keep their
languages and religions
This kept the conquered people content and less
likely to rebel
The Persians used metal coins with standardized values to help promote trade
PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE
The Ten Commandments were the rules and guidelines for those who
followed Judaism
WRITING:–Phoenicians simplified
cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet–Phoenician merchants
spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world–The alphabet
influenced the alphabet used by Greek and Romans
Gupta Empire: Classical IndiaIndia experienced a “golden age” of art,
learning, and science during the Gupta Empire, which was known as a “classical empire”
Indian astronomers were the first to discover that the Earth is round
Mathematicians invented modern numerals, the number zero, pi, and the decimal system
Mountains covered about 75% of Greece; these barriers divided the Greek people into
separate mountain valleys and made unifying Greece nearly impossible
Differences Among Greek City-StatesSome polis like Athens had a
direct democracy, a government ruled by citizens
who vote on decisions
This system of voting would influence
future civilizations, such as Rome
ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATIONRome’s location on the
Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and cultural diffusion
(blending of cultures) with other people and nations
The society of Sparta focused on military strength, not on freedom, art, and learning
(like Athens did)
Unlike Athens, the people of Sparta had
little voice in the government
Alexander’s greatest legacy: Alexander the Great brought Greek colonists and culture to Persia
and parts of Asia, blending the cultures together; this created a new culture called Hellenism
The term “Hellenism” comes from the sun goddess Helen, which the Greeks thought themselves the children of; they called Greek culture “Hellenism”
The Influence of the Greeks and RomansThe influence that the Greeks and later on
the Romans had on Western civilization cannot be overstated
Many facets of modern American life can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks
and Romans: things like government, language, religion, law, education, entertainment, literature, art, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, science, buildings, customs,
traditions, sports, philosophy and medicine all can trace their roots back to Greece and Rome
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED
Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire
and gained popularity
In the year 312 CE, Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal after recognizing that the
Christian religion was becoming the dominant one in
his empire Rome changed to monotheistic
Christianity from their old polytheistic religion
Greece developed democracy, theater, geometry, and philosophy
Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle questioned assumptions, quested for knowledge,
and used logic to find answers to questions
THE PAX ROMANA
Pax Romana
Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and
expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE
Muhammad and IslamMuhammad began preaching a new monotheistic religion called Islam that worshipped the same God as the God of
the Jews and Christians, but in a different way
The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire
happened gradually, in three stages FIRST STAGE: internal problems such as economic
inflation and excessive spending, disruption of trade, weak leadership, and a disorganized military
SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted
reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end
THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of
Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end
FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE
Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to rule the Roman Republic and this would lead to
the rise of the Roman Empire
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: SHAHADAH
“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God”
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: SIYAM The Fourth Pillar is Siyam, or fasting
(going without food) during the month of
Ramadan
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: HAJJ
All adult Muslims who are able to are expected to make the hajj (a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca) at
least once in their lifetime
The Sunni-Shi’a SplitThe disagreement over who should lead Islam after
Muhammad lead to a split between Muslims
Shi’a Muslims rejected the rule of those not
related to MuhammadThe Shi’a believe that
caliphs must come directly from
Muhammad’s bloodline
Sunni Muslims accepted the rule of those NOT related to MuhammadThe Sunni believe that caliphs should follow
Muhammad’s example, but do not have to be
relatives
SHARI’A LAW
Shari’a law encourages some behaviors, while forbidding others, such as eating pork, drinking
alcohol, or gamblingShari’a also commands women to “not show
their beauty”, so many Muslim women cover
themselves to one degree or another
Islamic law is shari’a, or “path to be followed”
EAST AFRICA
Arab merchants brought their
religion with them to East Africa
Islam was introduced to the East African trade cities through the
Indian Ocean trade network
BELIEFS OF ISLAM
Because the Muslims respect parts of the
Bible and Torah, they consider Christians
and Jews “People of the Book”
Geography and Navigation
Travelers, like Ibn Battuta, recorded
information (and in Ibn’s case, wrote a book) about their
journeys to the Muslim lands and
beyond
The Ka’aba (“The Cube”) is a 43 foot high cube structure that contains altars
and works of art glorifying Islam; it is the destination of Muslim pilgrims
Mecca is Islam’s holiest city
Medicine
Muslims established the
world’s first hospitals and based their
medical knowledge on
that of Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and Greece
Doctors treated ailments through drugs, diet, and exercise; they also used stitches after performing surgeries
MathematicsMuslims based their work in math in part on the
ideas from India and Classical Greece
One scholar, Al-Khwarizmi, is called the “father of algebra”, which is used to solve problems with unknown numbers
University in Timbuktu
Timbuktu became a trade city that attracted
scholars, religious leaders, and doctors
As a result of Mansa Musa’s hajj to Mecca, Islamic learning and culture expanded in West Africa
WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM
Islam was introduced to West Africa and slowly
gained converts (people who switch their beliefs
to a new religion)Many West Africans either blended Islam
with Animism or never converted
SYNCRETISM: the blending of religious
beliefs
Arabia, the Birthplace of Islam
The Arabian Peninsula is a desert
region with little fertile soil or
farming
The harsh climate and lack
of resources forced Arabs to become traders
BELIEFS OF ISLAM
The rules and guidelines Muslims go by in regards to their religious practices are
called the Five Pillars of Islam
The Ten Commandments
serve as rules and guidelines for Jews and
Christians, much like how the Five Pillars are rules
for Muslims
TRANS-SAHARAN GOLD-SALT TRADE The societies of West
Africa and North Africa were shaped
by the Trans-Saharan gold-salt trade
West Africa had large deposits of gold, but no salt North Africa had
large deposits of salt, but no gold
The Eastern Roman Empire, now known as the Byzantine Empire, not only remained together but
survived for nearly a thousand more years
When the Roman Empire split in two, the Western side was taken over by the Germanic tribes, while the
Eastern side stayed strong
About 50 years after the fall of Western Rome, Justinian came to power in the East; he began reconquering Roman
territories lost to the Germanic tribes
ORANGE: OLD ROMAN TERRITORY THAT JUSTINIAN
ADDED TO BYZANTINE TERRITORYPURPLE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE WHEN
JUSTINIAN ROSE TO POWER
The Justinian CodeTo oversee his empire, Justinian ordered legal experts to consolidate
Roman laws into a single law code
It was called the “Justinian Code” and
served as the legal basis for criminal justice, marriage, property,
slavery, and women’s rights
The Code would serve as the basis for the Western Civilization’s legal system
The Byzantines
This trade increased Russia’s wealth and
led to cultural diffusion between the
Byzantines and the Russians
Byzantine missionaries (those
who spread religion) brought Eastern
Orthodox Christianity north to the Russians
Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians practice their religions differently:
Culture of the Byzantine Empire
Later, the Hagia Sophia (which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek) became a mosque and today
is a museum in present-day Turkey; it remains the greatest example of Byzantine architecture
Culture of the Byzantine Empire
Citizens of the Byzantine Empire thought of
themselves as Romans; they shared some similarities with
the Roman Empire
The Byzantines kept Greco-Roman culture alive while
the Western side of the Roman Empire was plunged
into the Middle Ages
How did physical geography impact the Byzantine capital of Constantinople?
• Text
Constantinople was a crossroads for trade and business between Europe, Asia, and Africa because of its location;
this trade made the Byzantine Empire very wealthy
Lords gave piece of land to knights; in exchange, the knights gave
the lords their loyalty and
military service
Feudalism is based on
land ownership and loyalty
After the fall of the Roman Empire, a new political and social system
called feudalism developed
Effects of the CrusadesThe Crusades brought cultural diffusion and introduced new ideas into Western Europe
They increased desires for luxury goods like silk,
cotton, sugar, and spices
They introduced technologies like compass,
astrolabe, ship designs, and gunpowder
They introduced ideas like Arabic numbers, chemistry,
algebra, and telescopes
The Role of the Medieval ChurchRoman Catholicism was the dominant religion in Western Europe during the
Middle Ages The Catholic Church
filled an important role in peoples’ lives, giving
them a sense of security and the goal of
reaching Heaven; the Church provided order
and stability in Western Europe
The Role of the Medieval ChurchEach manor in medieval Europe had a
church which provided order
Western Europe in the Middle AgesMedieval Europeans lived on self-sufficient manors (the
lords’ land); the manorial system allowed peasants to farm the lord’s land in exchange for part of the food harvested
Landowning lords offer
pieces of land (called a “fief”)
to knights
In exchange, knights offer
lords their loyalty and a promise to
protect the lord and his land
IF YOU HAVE CORRECTLY ANSWERED ALL OF THE QUESTIONS
ON YOUR REVIEW PACKET, YOU WILL BE READY FOR THE SEMESTER
ONE MIDTERM EXAM